Hey kids! Test Your Tech IQ

When Al Shugart and Finis Conner launched Seagate Technologies in 1980, what was the capacity of their first 5.25-inch Winchester hard drive?

What technology trailblazing company owned not one, but two market-leading subsidiaries in the computer peripherals market in the early 1980s?

Which executive left Radio Shack in 1983 to become president of Microsoft, replacing a very young Bill Gates?

What computer services industry legend once satisfied his full year’s sales quota on January 2nd?

What storage industry executive was elected a U.S. congressman in the late 1980s?

What PC company introduced a system in 1984 that it claimed was “nearly IBM compatible?” (Hint: The company was founded by one of the engineering icons of the PC industry.)

Which two engineers jointly hold the patent for integrated circuits?

What “maverick” IBM executive died tragically in a 1985 plane crash?

What was the first magazine to have a PC on the cover?

Which two distributors merged to form the company later known as Merisel?

When Al Shugart and Finis Conner launched Seagate Technologies in 1980, what was the capacity of their first 5.25-inch Winchester hard drive?

A: 5 megabytes. No, not gigabytes…megabytes.

What technology trailblazing company owned not one, but two market-leading subsidiaries in the computer peripherals market in the early 1980s?

A: Xerox, the inventor of the mouse and the GUI, was the parent company of Diablo Systems (daisywheel printers) and Shugart Associates (disk drives).

Which executive left Radio Shack in 1983 to become president of Microsoft, replacing a very young Bill Gates?

A: Jon Shirley (although he only lasted a few years).

What computer services industry legend once satisfied his full year’s sales quota on January 2nd?

A: Ross Perot (before he ran for President or tangled with General Motors).

What storage industry executive was elected a U.S. congressman in the late 1980s?

A: Ed Zschau co-founded System Industries, then later became high-tech’s leading voice in Congress.

What PC company introduced a system in 1984 that it claimed was “nearly IBM compatible?” (Hint: The company was founded by one of the engineering icons of the PC industry.)

A: Victor Technologies was led by Chuck Peddle, inventor of the Commodore PET.

Which two engineers jointly hold the patent for integrated circuits?

A: Robert Noyce (Intel) and Jack Kilby (Texas Instruments).

What “maverick” IBM executive died tragically in a 1985 plane crash?

A: Don Estridge had recently been moved into a new position when the Delta Airlines L-1011 he was traveling in crashed on approach to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.

What was the first magazine to have a PC on the cover?

A: Popular Electronics came out with a cover article on the now-famous Altair computer in 1975.

Which two distributors merged to form the company later known as Merisel?

A: Microamerica (Massachusetts) and Softsel (Southern California) merged to form Merisel. Talk about culture shock-imagine the Red Sox merging with the Dodgers.